It’s no secret that many recording artists -- especially those from the bygone era of the long-form LP record format -- prefer listeners to enjoy their music as a whole, rather than on a song-by-song basis. One of the pioneers of such concepts, Pink Floyd, has just scored a legal victory that may change the way we buy such music from iTunes in the future.

BBC News is reporting that Pink Floyd has score a legal victory with its record label, EMI, over the company selling its songs by track through Apple’s iTunes Store, according to MacRumors. The high-profile band objects to the label splitting up what it considers to be single pieces of work.

“The rock legends, signed to EMI since 1967, said their contract meant their albums could not be split up without their permission,” BBC News reports. “A judge agreed, saying the contract contained a clause to ‘preserve the artistic integrity of the albums.’ EMI has been ordered to pay £40,000 ($60,000) in costs, with a further fine to be decided.”

Of course, Pink Floyd’s contract with EMI predates digital music downloads, particularly those from the iTunes Store, which pioneered the “99 cents per track” option that’s become so popular in recent years. Rather than having to buy an entire album just to get one or two favorite tracks, customers can pick & choose which tracks they’d like to own.

The band’s lawyers “argued that it made little sense that the contract’s restrictions against the splitting up of ‘seamless’ material would apply to physical distribution while digital distribution would be treated as a ‘free for all.’” EMI argued that the use of the word “record” in the contract suggested that it applied only to physical media.

For now, Pink Floyd’s music remains for sale by track on the iTunes Store -- so get it while the getting is good, we figure that will change soon enough, and probably start affecting other classic rock bands as well...